Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil;
wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
all the trees of the field are dried up,
and gladness dries up
from the children of man.
Here in America, we are blessed that we can take for granted that we will not starve to death unless something extraordinary has happened. Now, we plunge into despair because Starbucks ran out of cookies. Not so in the land of Judah when Joel prophesied disaster to them. These two verses, easy for us to disregard, put terror in the hearts of his audience. If the wheat perished, no bread. If the fruit trees dried up, starvation enters the picture and death is on the table for the population. It is still the case for many millions in the world today but that rarely enters our mind.
A more fearful retribution awaits those who are not in Christ in today’s world. Joel preached of a Day of the Lord and our preachers today can make the same plea for repentance because the Day of the Lord is near. On that day, starvation will be far from the minds of those who rejected God. An eternity in Hell is on the table for our neighbors, co-workers, and loved ones. There is an urgent need for the warnings of Joel to ancient Judah to be repeated to modern America. It is time for America to wake up and smell the bread.
Dear Lord, thank you for rescuing us from the Day of the Lord. We pray for those who do not repent, that we may reach them with the gospel. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church